BECOMING A CONTAGOUS CHRISTIAN Introduction In our small town things are pretty good. Many people go to church and many who do not attend church are pretty moral and hold to the small town values. This might lull us into the idea that everyone is a Christian. And that is just not so. It makes for a great setting in which to live, and we love it here. But our business is winning souls to Christ and getting people into heaven. That is the first reason we exist as a church. We might wonder, "well, who am I supposed to talk to about Christ, everyone I know is a believer." And that may be exactly the problem. The State of THE CHURCH IN Our TOWN AND COUNTRY Recently I did some research on evangelism and what I discovered was eye opening. Today 85% of congregations in the U.S. are on a plateau or declining. The number of Protestants in the U.S. have been on the decline for decades. The United States today is the third largest pagan nation in the world. 25,399 souls in Chippewa County claim no religious or church affiliation. Thousands more people in this County attend churches at which God s plan of salvation is not clearly taught or explained. 1
We have a need to be around other believers to keep our faith strong. However, we have an even more desperate need to remember the lost. Our posture in the way we make our friends list and the way we organize our church programs and services and the way we think about life in general is that we are having dinner with the family but we are always expecting company, even it is means searching the streets to invite them. HOW PEOPLE USUALLY GET SAVED Now let s take a look at some of the ways in which people are coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Conversation with family member 24% Was raised by family to be a Christian 14% Responded to a sermon at a church 14% Conversation with a friend 10% Was healed of a physical problem 6% Attended an evangelistic event 5% Relationship with a minister 5% If someone did not grow up in a Christian family and does not attend church what is the most likely means they will come to faith in Christ? It is through a conversation with a friend or family member. In fact 3 of the 4 most effective means that God uses to bring people to faith in Christ involve relationships. Notice that event based evangelism and 2
counting on the pastor are not very effective. Making friends with the lost is very effective. The problem is that after 5 years of becoming a Christian 85 percent of Christians have no ongoing contact with those who do not follow Christ. And so if we care about evangelism and if we care about the great commission then it seems as though the best thing we can do is to begin by making friends with several pre-christians. One barrier we must overcome is the influence of a consumeroriented society that has convinced most Christians, clergy and laity alike, that the Church exists primarily for believers. This has created a loss of: Mission, Vision, and Faith SCRIPTURE READING 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all 3
men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings. Let s break this apart a little bit and examine this text verse by verse. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. Paul has willingly made himself a servant to the non-christian. When you are a servant you organize your activities around the needs and preferences of another person. Paul says he willingly serves the non- Christian. Paul met whatever spiritual, emotional or physical needs that he could meet if it would bring someone closer to knowing Christ. The needs of each non-christian determined the schedule and activity of Paul. Our temptation is to serve our own needs and wants, never pausing to see what we could do for a non-christian. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the 4
weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. Paul was a cultural Christian. When he was in Jerusalem he spoke in Hebrew. When he was in Rome he spoke in Greek. When he was in Athens he used his knowledge of philosophy. Our witnessing needs to also be translated into the culture in which we minister. Paul became all things to all people for what purpose; to reach as many as possible? Paul wanted his Christian faith to be contagious. Paul wanted his relationship with Jesus Christ to be catchy. The message of Paul did not change but his language and style of presenting the gospel was determined not by his preferences but by the real needs of those he was seeking to reach. And this is true because in Paul s mind one of the primary activities of the church is to reach those who are not yet with us. In all we do we must give a higher priority to the stranger. CHURCH = MISSIONARY OUTPOST Rather than adopting the cultural norms of the town in which a church is located, Churches often develop their own culture. A church needs to do things to help Christians grow. But they also need to see themselves as a missionary outpost. When you go to a missionary outpost you find Christians who are not afraid of the regular people in the village, they learn the customs and hang out with ordinary people and learn the language and fit into the culture to win people to Christ. They find any common ground possible 5
to rub shoulders with the irreligious. The thing that keeps us holy is not avoiding our culture, it is the power of Christ that is renewed every time someone comes to faith in Christ. STORY Evangelism Explosion and all the formulas Now as we already saw the most effective means of evangelism is by making friends and showing love to those who need Christ. I remember doing the evangelism explosion program. This is a program that lays out a well-organized means to present the gospel door to door. This works for some people. But I have not seen lasting results and transformation come out of this program. I recall going to the training and working through the books. Then we went out into the neighborhoods in town and knocked on doors. And I recall going to several doors to share the gospel, but we were treated with suspicion by everyone we visited. We had very poor results. And I was more than a little discouraged. I believe in our culture the successful outreach programs will be the ones that are most relational. That should be a great relief to you because most of us get nervous when we think we need to cold call people and hard sell them anything that they may not really want. MANY PEOPLE KNOCKING ON MY DOOR Sometimes God will do something miraculous in a conversation with a stranger. But with all the people knocking on your door today claiming to be the one and only true way to heaven, it is no wonder people are skeptical. And so we need to earn the trust of non-christians before we 6
can win them to Christ. And that bears out in our statistics that 3 of the top 4 categories for evangelism are relational. So have you earned the respect and formed relationships with any non-christians in the past 6 months? If we don t know them, we can t win them. When is the last time you invited someone to come to church or an outreach event of the church? When is the last time you went into the store or the football game and treated them as an opportunity to meet people who need Jesus? And when we do meet people is our faith contagious to others? Do other people meet us and want what we have? Let's talk more about how our faith can be more contagious. BECOMING A CONTAGEOUS CHRISTIAN WHAT WILL MAKE MY FAITH CONTAGEOUS? There are three elements that we will identify today that can make your faith contagious, or catchy High Potency, Close Proximity and Message Clarity. This comes from the Contageous Christian material. 1. HIGH POTENCY = Contagious Christianity Your message is POTENT WHEN IT IS: Authentic are you blowing smoke or has Christ genuinely changed your life. For example; we talk about the joy of the Lord. But do you and I exude the joy of the Lord? Do people want what you have to offer? If it is not genuine and life changing for you, then other people will not want 7
it. Grouchy, bitter, gossiping, legalistic Christians make very poor evangelists. Authentic joy is contagious. So are you contagious? If not, deal with your stuff, forgive whom you need to forgive and more on. The Holy Spirit wants to reproduce the powerful joy-filled life of Jesus Christ through you and me. When you see the life of Jesus in someone that is contagious. And your message is potent when you are: Compassionate Compassion is very contagious. Most people understand that they are messed up. The compassion of Jesus Christ is very catchy. All you have to do is look like you care about someone when they share their struggles and they will see that you care. This is not complicated stuff. This is heart stuff. And your message is potent when you are: Sacrificial love is authenticated when love is willing to suffer or sacrifice. Sacrificial love is the gospel message without words. 2. CLOSE PROXIMITY = Contagious Christianity To be in close proximity means you are: Rubbing shoulders with the irreligious If you don t know anyone who is non-christian I can guarantee that you will lead no one to Christ. 8
To be in close proximity means you are: Finding the approach that fits your friend Use your spiritual gifts Be natural. When you talk to someone just share your story and don t worry about results. Very often people are afraid they won t talk with others the right way, or they have to talk someone into faith convincing them. Well you can stop that. People know when we are trying to convince them of something. The air gets heavy; we feel pressure because we want so badly to share our faith. But you know what. Christ said he would draw all people to himself. So let him do the convincing. Just throw your story or testimony out there as though you don t care what they do with it. The Holy Spirit will take over. Did you know the Holy Spirit is the greatest evangelist of all time? 3. CLEAR COMMNICATION= Contagious Christianity To be contagious you must use clear communication; Clear Communication Requires you be know your most effective style: Direct This is only for those type A folks who can cut to the chase Indirect The idea here is to go fishing. Inviting Come and see Overriding Principles Create a double bind for their belief system. Christianity is not a religion it s a relationship The idea is to pique their curiosity. 9
Clear Communication Includes The Use of Illustrations: ILLUSTRATIONS Know Your Audience The religious lost vs. the secular lost In our scripture reading for today, Paul says that he becomes all things to all people so that by whatever means he can win them to Christ. The idea is that you begin by recognizing and accepting where the person is at in their life. Use what they know and what you know and start from there. So here are some illustrations that could work in a number of situations. Please commit at least one of these to memory. Remember, the stakes are high. (ILLUSTRATION) The Bridge Illustration good for the secular lost This is particularly useful for drawing on a napkin and in informal settings. Pictures stick, whereas sometimes references will not. (ILLUSTRATION) The Romans Road good for the religious lost Romans 3 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 6 10
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Romans 10 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Most Important = Your Story Give it in doses and don t force it. This is particularly important in a postmodern age in which ones personal experience is exalted over objective truth. GIVE MY TESTIMONY SUMMARIZING THE PLAN Individual Be Intentional Have a Mission Field Mindset Love the lost like Jesus loves the lost Make some pre-christian friends Plan something in your ministry for both the lost 11
Be ready to share words of faith Church Wide - Be Intentional Have a greater percentage of our programs designed for the lost If we have an outreach event don t come unless you bring a friend In your ministry area plan something for the lost. Are we all worship for the saved? Let's do some music for the lost. Are we all hospitality for the saved? Let's show hospitality for the lost too. Taking It Home 1. Are you in love with the lost? 2. Do you have any friends who are not Christ followers? 3. Do you have a good idea of your most effective style? 4. Would you be willing to write out your testimony in such a way that you can present it in a couple minutes? 5. Who is one person that God is putting on your heart right now that you need to pray for and show them the love of Christ? 12